Dumbledore Meets Doctor Who This Christmas

With the sound of Doctor WhoSeason 5 finale "The Big Bang" still ringing in our ears, the BBC isn't resting on its laurels, revealing first details of the show's 2010 Christmas Special.

While the episode's title is still under wraps, the BBC is promising a clever twist on festive classic A Christmas Carol, with time-travelling newlyweds Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) joining Matt Smith's Doctor alongside special guests Michael Gambon and opera singer Katherine Jenkins, in her first acting role.

With filming for the Christmas special starting today, showrunner Steven Moffat enthused, "Oh, we're going for broke with this one. It's all your favourite Christmas movies at once, in an hour, with monsters and the Doctor and a honeymoon and – oh, you'll see. I've honestly never been so excited about writing anything. I was laughing madly as I typed along to Christmas songs in April. My neighbours loved it so much they all moved away and set up a website demanding my execution. But I'm fairly sure they did it ironically."

There's no confirmed air date for the Doctor Who Christmas Special as yet, but if recent years are any indication, expect to be settling down in front of the TV post-turkey and pud on Christmas Day, in the UK at least.